Door holder



g- 1939- J. A. WALLACE 2,168,635

DOOR HOLDER File d May 2, 1938 INVEN TOR.

Patented Aug. 8, 1939 NITED srAres PATENT OFFICE 9 Claims. This invention relates to a door holder and it is one object of the invention to provide a device of this character adapted to be applied to a swinging door such as used upon garages and serve as means for holding the door in an open position.

Another object of the invention is to so construct the door holder that while a door propping bar thereof will be yieldably held in inoperative position, it may be easily moved to operative position and releasably secured by a latch so that it will be prevented from accidentally moving to inoperative position.

Another object of the invention is to so mount the spring which urges the propping bar toward raised or inoperative position that anchoring means therefor may be released and thus prevent the bar from being moved toward inoperative position by. unauthorized releasing of a latch Which retains the spring under tension when the spring is anchored and the bar is in operative position.

Another object of the invention is to provide a bar which may serve not only as means for propping the door in open position but also as means for securing the door closed.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of this character which is carried entirely by the door and thus capable of securing the door when in a closed position, a partially opened position, or a fully opened position.

Another object of the invention is to provide a door prop which is simple in construction, very easy to operate, and not liable to get out of order.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein- "Fig. l is a front elevation showing props of the improved construction applied to doors of a garage.

I Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view partially in elevation and partially in section.

Fig. 3 is a view showing a fragment of a door with the improved prop applied thereto and shown partially in section. I

Fig. 4 is a View takenalong the line 44 of Fig. 3, with the door in elevation and the prop partially in elevation and partially in section.

Fig.5 is a sectional view taken along the line 55 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view illustrating the means for holding the propping bar in raised position.

The improved door holder constituting the subject matter of this invention has been shown applied to the doors I of a garage 2 and while the garage has been shown provided with two doors,

it is to be understood that it may have a single door, as each door has a prop applied thereto. It is also to be understood that use of holder is not limited to the doors of garages as it may be applied to any door hinged ,at one side for horizontal swinging movement into and out of closed or open position. i

The bar 3, by means of which the door is held in open position or closed position, as the case may be, is of hollow formation, as shown in Fig. 4, and 10 the inner face of the door and secured by fasten- 1 ers such as screws passed through a suitable number of openings 8 formed adjacent side edges of the bracket. A resilient clip 9, which is substantially U -shaped, is secured against the upper end of the bracket and has its arms bent to form jaws II) between which a lug II carried by the bar 3, is adapted tobe gripped for releasably holding the bar in raised or inoperative position. A weight I2 is disposed loosely within the bar and may slide longitudinally therein as the bar is swung vertically from a lowered position to a raised position and back to a lowered position. At its front end the bar is flattened to form a nose or foot I3 having an opening I4 formed therein to receive a pin I5 projecting into a pocket or recess I6 of a cement driveway I1 and cause the bar to prop the door in open position. This nose or foot may also serve to dig into a dirt driveway and hold the door open, and, when the door is closed, it may be secured to a companion fastener member I8 upon the floor of the garage by a pin or padlock. A bumper I limits upward movement of the bar.

A tubular casing I 9 is mounted against the inner face of the door transversely'thereof and extends at a downward incline toward the inner hinged side edge thereof. A weight 2|] is slidable longitudinally in the casing and, at its outer end, is provided with an eye 2| to which is attached the upper end of a chain 22 which is engaged with pulley wheels 23 and 24 carried by the brackets 25 fixed to the door I. This chain extends downwardly from the pulley24 and, at its lower end, is secured to the bar 3 so that when the weight is slid longitudinally in the casing IS, the bar may be vertically adjusted and moved to a lowered position for use or shifted upwardly to its raised or inoperative position. When the bar is in the lowered position for use, the weight will be at the outer end of the casing, asshown in Figs. 2 and 3,

and when the bar is in'the raised position, the

weight will be in the position indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 3.

At its inner end, the Weight is formed with a ball 26 with which a shackle 2'! is engaged for universal movement, and this shackle is secured to the outer end of a helical spring 28 which extends longitudinally in the casing l9 and at its inner end is secured in a cylindrical spring holder 29. The spring holder is closed at its end and carries an eye 30 to which the lower end of a chain 3! is secured. The chain extends vertically along the inner side edge portion of the door and, at its upper end, is provided with a ring 32 engaged with a pin 33 driven into the door. It will thus be seen that the chain 3| is detachably mounted at its upper end. A handle 34 extends upwardly from the shackle 21 through a slot 35 formed longitudinally in the upper wall of the casing and when this handle is grasped and moved through the slot toward the outer end of the casing, the weight will be shifted to the position shown in Figs. 2 andS, and the chain 22 slackened so that the bar 3 may swing downwardly to the position for use. During this movement, the spring will be distended and will exert pull tending to return the weight to the retracted position, but since the weight will be canted upwardly at its rear or inner end, as shown clearly in Fig. 2, its rear end will engage the latch or keeper 36 and be releasably held in the protracted position at the upper or outer end of the casing. The latch extends transversely of the casing and at its inner end is pivoted to a bracket 31 through which the casing extends, as shown in Fig. 5. The free outer end portion of the latch projects beyond the casing so that it may be easily grasped when the latch is to be swung upwardly and release the weight for retraction thereof by the spring 28 and, in order to normally hold the latch in its lowered or operative position, there has been provided a spring 38 which has its upper end anchored to the latch and its lower end anchored to a tongue 39 projecting laterally from the bracket 31. Loops M] and 4| extend transversely of the casing over the same and as they are disposed 1 at opposite sides of the latch they will serve to guide its swinging movement and brace it against side strain when the weight is engaged with the latch.

When the improved door holder is in use, it is mounted upon the door, as shown in Fig. 1, and

after opening the door, the handle 34 will be grasped and shifted longitudinally through the slot 35 to move the weight to the outer end of the casing where it will'be held by the latch. The

' bar will be released from the latch l0 and will swing downwardly to .the lowered position to engage in the socket l6 and imbed its nose l3 in the dirt roadway leading to the garage and prop the door open. As the bar will be released from the latch IO during outward movement of the weight 20 and the weight l2 will slide toward the free end of the bar as the bar swings downwardly, pull will be exerted upon the chain 22 and thus make it easier to expand the spring 28. When the door is to be closed, it is merely necessary to swing the latch 36 to a raised position above the rear end of the weight and press the inner end of the weight downwardly so that the spring 28 can then contact and retract the weight through the weight to exert pull upon the chain 22 and draw the bar upwardly. The weight of the bar will prevent too rapid upward movement thereof and, as the weight l2 will slide toward the pivoted end of the bar during upward movement thereof, this will permit the bar to swing easily to its raised position. The door may then be closed and the bar swung downwardly to lowered position and secured to the companion keeper I8. After the door has been closed and secured by the bar the ring 32 will be released from the pin 33 and the spring 28 may contract from its inner or rear end and be relieved of its tension. The bar will thus remain in its lowered position and strain upon the fastener connecting it with the keeper it will be relieved. It should also be noted that if the latch 36 is unintentionally moved to a releasing position or so moved by an unauthorized person, the bar will remain in its lowered position and hold the door opened, this being due to the fact that the inner end of the weight 20 when tilted upwardly will limit inward movement of the weight until the weight is manually tilted to lower its inner end and permit sliding of the weight through the tube.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is:

1. In a door holder, a bar, means for pivoting the upper end of said bar to a door for vertical swinging movement from a lowered operative position to a raised position, a slidably mounted weight, a flexible connection between the bar and one end of said weight, a spring yieldably resisting movement of the weight in a direction to slacken said flexible connection and permit lowering of the bar, and means for releasably securing said weight in a set position with the spring distended and under tension.

2. In a door holder, a bar, means to pivotally mount the bar at its upper end, a slidably mounted weight, a flexible connection between the bar and one end of said Weight, a spring yieldably resisting movement of the weight in a direction to permit downward movement of said bar to an operative position, means for releasably securing said weight in a set position with the bar in its lowered position, and a weight slidable longitudinally' of said bar.

3. In a door holder, a bar, means to pivotally mount the bar at its upper end, a slidably mounted weight, a flexible connection between the bar and one end of said weight, a spring for yieldably resisting movement of the bar to a lowered position connected at one end to the other end of said weight, means for releasably securing the weight in a set position with the bar in its lowered position, and means for releasably securing the spring at its other end.

4. In a door holder, a bar, means to pivotally mount the bar at its upper end, a tubular casing adapted to be mounted on a door transversely thereof, a weight slidable longitudinally in said casing from a retracted position to a protracted position at the outer end of the casing, a cable connecting the outer end of said weight with said bar, a spring for yieldably resisting movement of the weight toward the protracted position, and means for releasably holding the weight in its protracted position.

5. In a door holder, a bar, means to pivotally mount the bar at its upper end, a tubular casing adapted to be mounted on a door transversely thereof at an upward incline toward its outer end, a weight slidable longitudinally in said casing from a retracted position to a protracted position at the outer end of the casing, a cable connecting the outer end of said Weight with the bar, a spring extending longitudinally in said casing and connected with the inner end of said weight, and means for releasably holding the weight in its protracted position.

6. In a door holder, a bar, means to pivotally mount said bar at its upper end, a tubular casing adapted to be mounted on a door transversely thereof at an upward incline toward its outer end, a weight slidable longitudinally in said casing from a retracted position to a protracted position at the outer end of the casing, a cable connecting the outer end of said weight with said bar, a helical spring extending longitudinally in said casing and secured at one end to the inner end of said weight, a spring mounting in said casing having the other end of said spring secured therein, means for releasably securing said spring mounting, and means for releasably securing the weight in its protracted position.

7. In a door holder, a bar, means to pivotally mount said bar at its upper end, a tubular casing adapted to be mounted upon a door transversely thereof at an upward incline toward its outer end, a Weight slidable longitudinally in said casing from a retracted position to a protracted position at the outer end of the casing, a cable connecting the outer end of said weight with said bar, a helical spring extending longitudinally in said casing and secured at one end to the inner end of said weight, a mounting cup for the other end of said spring, a guide pulley carried by said casing, a cable secured at one end to said cup and extending out of the adjacent end of the casing in engagement with said pulley and adapted to have its outer end releasably anchored to a door, and means for releasably securing the weight in its protracted position with the bar in its lowered position.

8. In a door holder, a bar, means to pivotally mount said bar at its upper end, a tubular casing adapted to be mounted upon a door transversely thereof at an upward incline toward its outer end, a weight slidable longitudinally in said casing from a retracted position to a protracted position at the outer end of the casing, a cable connecting the outer end of said weight with said bar, a helical spring extending longitudinally in said casing, means for anchoring the outer end of said spring, a shackle connecting the inner end of said spring with the inner end of said weight, a handle extending from said shackle through a slot formed longitudinally in said casing and constituting a hand hold for shifting the shackle and weight outwardly to an extended position and extend the spring to tension the spring, and means for releasably securing the weight in its protracted position with the bar lowered.

9. In a door holder, a bar, means to pivotally mount said bar at its upper end, a tubular casing adapted to be mounted upon a door transversely thereof at an upward incline toward its outer end, a weight slidable longitudinally in said casing from a retracted position to a protracted position at the outer end of the casing, a cable connecting the outer end of said weight with said bar, a helical spring extending longitudinally in said casing and secured at one end to the inner end of said weight, anchoring means for the outer end of said spring, means for shifting the weight longitudinally of said casing to an extended position at the upper end of the casing, the upper end of the casing having its upper wall cut away to expose the weight when the weight is in its protracted position, a latch extending transversely of said casing across the cut away portion of its upper end and pivoted at its inner end for swinging vertical movement in a vertical plane into and out of position to engage across the inner end of said weight and hold the weight in its protracted position, and means forguiding vertical movement of said latch.

JAMES A. WALLACE. 

